CHAPTER VI. 
THE GREAT HERBIVORES, 
THERE is a widespread belief among the public that the ele- 
phant is one of the most intelligent of animals, and I certainly 
think that this opinion is well founded. Individual peculiar- 
ities are very noticeable in these animals : they are wonderfully 
quick of apprehension, have remarkably retentive memories, 
and in their likes, as in their aversions, they display great in- 
tensity and depth of feeling. The elephant is a much cleverer 
creature than the horse, and his power of differentiation is 
almost human. 
On the emotional side too, the psychology of these 
gigantic quadrupeds is most interesting. Darwin was sur- 
prised to find that a bull elephant did not accept all the cows 
which were brought to him, but showed favour to some 
and rejected others. Now this is a subject which I have 
had frequent opportunities of studying, and I have found that 
these beasts ‘‘fall in love” in the true sense of the word ; 
that is, they conceive a truly monogamous affection for one 
particular cow, and are not merely actuated by a general 
predilection for the opposite sex. I remember a striking case 
in point. Some years ago I had in my Zoological Garden a 
young bull elephant that had just arrived at maturity. This 
animal became enamoured of a young cow, and, his affection 
being returned, it was an interesting and touching sight to see 
them tenderly caressing one another. I decided to test the 
genuineness of the bull’s marital affection by the introduction 
of a third party—a somewhat cynical proceeding, perhaps, but 
it was all in the cause of science. One day, whilst the bull 
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